Dean Barker’s Emirates Team New Zealand clinches Port Cities Challenge at AC World Series, San Diego
An impressive sailing display from Emirates Team New Zealand, led by Dean Barker in the warm up regatta of Port Cities Challenge brought the Kiwi team on top of the leaderboard with 49 points.
Dean Barker’s crew could not win more than one race but their consistent performance played a vital role in bringing them on the top podium spot of the fleet result board.
The winds around San Diego Bay started blowing from six to ten knots along with bright sunshine over the racing area. The Kiwi crew were one of the last arrivals in the town, but they did enjoy racing in the challenge.
Despite the fourth race, Barker’s team remained in the top three podium positions during the regatta, which definitely showed the level of their preparation for the AC World Series.
Speaking to local media at the conclusion of Port Cities Challenge, Barker said, “The teams are doing more and more sailing, so the standard is getting higher and higher. I think in a venue like this that's quite tricky you'll see a lot of place changes.
So it's going to be about staying consistent.”
ORACLE Racing Spithill, skippered by James Spithill, clinched second position in the event with 42 points while Terry Hutchinson’s Artemis Racing finished third in the regatta after securing 41 points.
Port Cities Challenge leaderboard of America’s Cup World Series San Diego is as follows:
1. Emirates Team New Zealand, Dean Barker (NZL) 2, 3, 1, 7, 2, 2 = 49 points
2. ORACLE Racing Spithill, James Spithill (USA) 3, 8, 2, 5, 3, 3 = 42 points
3. Artemis Racing, Terry Hutchinson (SWE) 1, 4, 6, 9, 1, 5 = 41 points
4. Energy Team, Yann Guichard (FRA) 7, 5, 3, 4, 6, 1 = 40 points
5. ALEPH, Pierre Pennec (FRA) 8, 7, 5, 1, 5, 4 = 36 points
6. Team Korea, Chris Draper (KOR) 6, 9, 4, 2, 4, 7 = 35 points
7. ORACLE Racing Coutts, Darren Bundock (USA) 4, 2, 8, 3, 8, 8 = 33 points
8. China Team, Charlie Ogletree (CHN) 5, 1, 7, 8, 7, 6 = 32 points
9. Green Comm Racing, Vasilij Žbogar (ESP) 9, 6, 9, 6, 9, 9 = 22 points
(Scoring scale: 1st = 10 points, 2nd = 9, 3rd = 8, 4th = 7, 5th = 6, 6th = 5, 7th = 4, 8th, 9th = 3)
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